The Tony Umayam era at Mountlake Terrace High School has come to an end as the Hawk football head coach for the past 11 years resigned from his post this week.

Umayam turned in his resignation letter to Edmonds School District officials on Monday after more than a year of contemplating the move.

“It is something that has been in the back of my mind since last winter,” Umayam said on Thursday. “Increased demands with my day job along with spending more time with my family were two of the main factors that helped me decide that the timing was right to step back from the time and responsibility needed for being a head varsity football coach.”

Umayam works in finance and accounting for a Seattle software company; he and his wife Andrea have two daughters, Julia age 5 and Marie age 3.

Umayam graduated from Terrace in 1990 and spent two years as an assistant football coach with the Hawks following his 1994 graduation from Willamette University. Then, after short stints on coaching staffs at Mercer Island and Jackson High Schools, Umayam returned to Terrace as an assistant coach, then assumed the head coach position in 2004.

“Having spent 17 years as a player, assistant and head coach, Terrace football will always have a special place in my heart,” Umayam said. “I’m extremely proud about the transformation that took place with this program over the past decade and am grateful to have worked with some excellent student athletes, a top-notch coaching staff, and some wonderful parents and community boosters during that time.”

Umayam said he is most proud of leading six teams with winning regular seasons during his 11 years as head coach. “There were only five regular winning seasons in the school’s previous history,” he noted.

Last year the team finished with a record of 8-3, the best ever for an MTHS squad, and earned the first postseason playoff victory in school history. “That eighth win was really big,” Umayam said. “With the last win the team set a new benchmark for the program.”

There are plenty of prep head coaching positions vacant right now around the area (Meadowdale, Shorewood, Monroe, and Cascade among others), but Umayam stressed he has no interest in any of them. “I am not looking right now for any head coaching job,” he said.

He added that he hasn’t entirely ruled out being an assistant coach somewhere in the area this fall, “But I would very much welcome a year-off from coaching.”

District officials are now advertising for applicants to fill the vacant MTHS head coaching job; no timeline was announced as to when the position could be filled.